“Host”, the Ouija board by Zoom that became the scariest movie of the year

Many have creatively tried to overcome the Coronavirus crisis that has plagued the planet since early 2020. HBO (at home), Netflix (local) s Amazon Prime Video (End to two floorsThey had their own anthology of stories about life in their 40s. Doug Lyman I believe in Confined Romantic heist comedy. Sam Levinson s Zendaya Take advantage of the second season postponement of trance To rotate Malcolm and MaryThe story of a couple in crisis. Comedy + Apple TV Legendary Quest He starred in a pandemic episode in which he portrayed the absurdity of remote work without forgetting the feeling of loneliness and anxiety that accompanied millions of people in those months. HostHorror movie that appeared today in a catalog Movistar +Another of those elements that have distinguished us so much in the last year: calls by Zoom in.

Before March 2020, little was known about Zoom, the default meeting and video calling service that you can access from your PC, tablets and smartphones. British filmmaker Rob Savage He saw a unique opportunity as the rest of the world struggled with the elements, isolation, and technology in the early stages of isolated life.

After seeing how many projects have been left in the air due to the pandemic, the director decides to give a try with his friends and play a joke on Zoom. During April, Savage recorded two video calls with his friends (who they did not know were part of an audiovisual experiment) interrupted by a series of strange noises in the attic. The videos They were an instant hit and the director realized the potential of co-ordination.

This was an asset Host, A horror movie born in the middle of a pandemic that was written, filmed and edited in less than three months. Viruses were born in April. On July 30, it premiered exclusively at shudder, Is a horror and suspense streaming service owned by it AMC. The premise was simple: Six friends have a session of enlargement in the middle of quarantine. Many of them are skeptical, but they agree to share out of boredom and loyalty to those they believe. Things get worse when an evil spirit invades the video call and terror sets in every home.

Savage used the classic structure of Screenshots found Or find footage, a technique used in horror in classics like epics [REC] s Supernatural activity. Narratively, it looks as if someone has stumbled upon a recording we see from the point of view of the character or other character involved, often accompanied by comments outside of the footage. The saturation of similar proposals has ended in the past twenty years in the decline of technology that has returned to the front lines of terror with the success of the revolutionary. Blair Witch Project.

Success Host The application of Zoom’s privacy had in the narrative and visual visualization of the proposal, from its short duration (the film lasts only 57 minutes), which calls for a 40-minute limit for each meeting on the stage, to the final credits that appear exactly the same as in the Zoom call.

A strict quarantine in the UK also forced Savage to remotely control the film. The director gave instructions from his home while the actors, all anonymous, set up cameras, lighting, and do the action scenes. Actors had to learn how to create practical effects with a virtual workshop. Only they can move doors or fly objects in the scene.

After the success of the viral videos, many companies became interested in the movie. He chose Savage for Shudder. “There were companies thinking about a limited edition release in cinemas or cars, but everything was in the air. We needed to make sure we knew that people would be able to access the movie if the quarantine lasted longer,” the director explained in an interview with The web In short the week. “When we were doing it, we felt that the bull run would be a reality for the rest of the year. We wanted something that people could see and enjoy.”

Despite her humble origins, Host It ended up becoming the horror proposal with Best Reviews of 2020: A. 100% positive feedback at Rotten tomatoes s 73 points out of 100 at Metacritic. Its virtues are agreed by critics: the incredible pace, the right duration, the clever management of stress, and the feeling of occurrence in real time, which makes watching the movie an enjoyable and sometimes horrific experience. Ultimately, Zoom can do good things for us.

“The Host” is available on Movistar + from March 29th.

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